the end
by the primrose path
Summary: Riku's tired. He and his friends, they fought for so long, and now... it's over. The End. [ one-shot. / presumed-AU. / character death. ]


**A/N:**

**Disclaimer – neither Kingdom Hearts nor Square Enix is associated me with any way beyond a fan to fandom relationship. I do not own what I am about to write of beyond basic idea and usage. I do not intend to make any money from this one-shot.**

**I was first inspired with the idea of Riku talking to Sora's grave by listening to Destiny's Union. I wrote this exhausted, though, so don't expect much. uvu**

* * *

**the end.**

* * *

Riku fell through a haze of black, destroyed Heartless.

He landed on his feet, immediately twisting around to block a strike from a Samurai Nobody. He grunted from the force, holding for a moment more before deflecting it away with a shove and jumping to the side. He immediately charged up a dark firaga and blasted, running right after it to slam his Keyblade blade-first into the Nobody.

There was a moment of resistance, of blade meeting flesh, before it vanished, Riku passing through the resulting white and silver swirls. He had fought against these creatures for so long that this reaction – which would have a regular swordsman tumbling to the ground – only felt like the usual.

He spun around again, blade already rising with a firaga burst kindling at the end.

Dust billowed. Silence reigned.

Riku stood like that for a moment more before slumping over, Way to the Dawn vanishing in a blur of shadow. He closed his eyes behind the black blindfold. His long black coat flapped in the wind.

So tired.

He took a deep breath before straightening again. There was a place to get to. The still air was soon filled with the sound of crunching dry dirt as Riku walked across the barren plateau. Around him stood other mesas, orange in the clouded sunlight.

It took several chasm hops with his Gilder before he made it to the right one. He walked to the opposite edge and paused, raising the black fabric covering his eyes to take in the view.

A field of Keyblades stood, forsaken by their masters and black with age. The sight dug up year-old memories.

Riku turned away almost violently, quickly replacing the blindfold. He was here to remember. He was not here to collapse in on himself. Before he could change his mind, he stepped away from the cliff and turned back to the center of the mesa. This platform was one of the smaller ones here, but that didn't lower its significance at all.

He summoned a Keyblade in a blaze of white sparks before stabbing it into the ground. There was a faded thalassa-shell charm there as a marker, held in place by a nail.

"I don't know why I keep doing this."

The Kingdom Key didn't respond.

"All this accomplishes is a place to get ambushed. They know I come here regularly. Why do I keep doing this when I know I'm not going to get an answer? I might as well hand myself over right now."

The wind blew. It was a hollow sound.

"Sentimentality. That's what it is. A year of repeatedly talking to a dead Keyblade, and for what? Warm, fuzzy memories?"

He let out a bitter bark of a laugh.

"Whatever. You asked this of me." Riku hesitated before lifting his blindfold again. The Kingdom Key looked just as it did a year ago. Before its Master... abandoned it.

"It's the same as it's been. Lea and I... we've been trying our best. But two against eighteen? It's a losing battle, and it has been for a year. You and Kairi..."

He summoned another Keyblade. It joined its companion in the ground.

"Yeah, that's right. She joined you last month. After all we did to protect her, she still... _agh_. It's done. We can't change a thing." He could hear his own attempt to convince himself. Riku buried it down and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Yes. Anger. He could manage that. "We're trying, Sora, okay? We've _been_ trying. But there's no one else left but me and Lea. Xehanort is just picking away at us, playing with us like cat and mouse and we're the prey. He knows we can't train an apprentice. We, the Keyblade's legacy... it's dead."

_There. I said it. It's dead. _We're_ dead._

The echoes of his shouts lingered. He hadn't even noticed. He yanked the blindfold back down. Riku couldn't bear to see anymore. He could be blind for the rest of his numbered days, and it wouldn't come close to being a satisfactory punishment.

"I don't blame you for leaving us anymore." His voice was quiet. "It was never your fault. None of us... we didn't look where we leaped. We bit off more than we could chew."

"_You mixed up too many metaphors?"_

The voice didn't surprise him. Sometimes, it was like he could really hear Sora's voice during these sessions. But it wasn't him. Riku knew that.

He sighed. "Sure. Let's go with that. But the point is, we tried our best and we failed. I'm not going to give up. That would be a betrayal of both you and Lea and everyone else. But that doesn't mean I'm in denial. We're losing. Soon, you'll be in Xehanort's hands. And I am so, so sorry."

The Kingdom Key and Destiny's Embrace vanished from the ground in a gleam of white and gold. They returned to Riku.

For a moment, his eyes burned from behind the dark fabric. They wanted so badly to cry.

As if from a distance, he heard a scream. It came straight from the depths of his heart, a connection Riku had made a long time ago echoing the sound. Sora had taught him how to listen right before – before he fell.

He sucked in a shocked breath. "No." Urgently summoning Destiny's Embrace, he tossed it, jumping on as the blade boomeranged and came back as a Glider. The Kingdom Key and Way to the Dawn flashed into his hands. "No, Lea!"

Riku vanished into a Way.

**. . .**

Lea grinned through the pain.

"Hey, Isa. Long time no see."

Who cared if the man who currently had him skewered on his Keyblade had his hood up? Who else would it be? When the Organization came for him, it would be either Isa or the other two for certain, and this man was clearly too tall. Xehanort wanted him to suffer through his last few moments of life. In that way, the old man was predictable.

Isa didn't reply.

"Oh, come on." Lea coughed wetly. He thought he spotted a glimmer of red on the spray that ensued. Hmm. Curious. "Can't even say good-bye to your old friend? I thought we knew each other better that, Isa."

Crap. His vision was tunneling. Fuzziness was encroaching upon his lucidity territory. _Get over here already, Riku. I'd rather not die today._

"Not anymore, Lea," Isa finally said quietly.

"Okay, I guess it has been, what, five years since we were close?" Lea shrugged, and the pain that followed was fantastic. At least hanging in the air impaled did wonders for your blurring thought process. The clouds cleared up right quick... for now. "But that doesn't make our past just go poof. We _were_ best friends. Doesn't that count for something?"

A pause. "Not anymore."

Lea only shook his head with mock sadness. "What a shame."

Isa didn't reply. He only lifted his Keyblade higher.

Oh gods. The pain. Tears welled in his eyes as he fought to hold back his screams.

"At least," Lea finally whispered, voice choked, "show me your face, coward."

The raising halted. Good thing too – he was pretty sure that a few inches more and he would've started sliding down the shaft. And Xehanort's Keyblade style wasn't exactly smooth and slick.

"'Coward'," Isa murmured. "I distinctly remember you with better insults than that. As you wish." He took off his hood with his free hand – _wait, he's strong enough to hold me up with one?_ – revealing his silver-streaked blue hair and gold eyes. That accursed x-shaped scar was still there too.

Damn. Lea didn't think he could wish for the old green eyes any more than he was now.

He spotted the customary glimmer of an opening Path behind Isa. Before his 'Norted old friend could sense the portal, Lea spat the mouthful of blood he had been collecting into his face. _Of course I have better insults than "coward"; it was just shorter and I didn't want to accidentally swallow._ Isa stumbled back, unfortunately not letting go of his Keyblade. Lea couldn't help but scream in agony this time as his skewer swung around.

Riku silently slammed his blade into Isa's sword arm, forcing him to drop his Keyblade.

Lea collapsed on the ground, blanking out for a moment from the pain. The next thing he knew, the blade had vanished from his stomach area and fresh blood was beginning to gush its way out. Riku was kneeling beside him.

"Drink." He shoved a hi-potion at him.

Lea snatched it away with weakening fingers and chugged. It cleared most of the mind-fog, and he could feel the pain lessening slightly.

"Curaga," he heard Riku whisper under his breath. Faint green light drifted around him for a moment, accompanied by an intense itching all over his body – especially by his stomach – before disappearing. Most of the pain went with it.

He groaned. Thank gods Riku heard him. Lea had been honestly thinking he was going to die.

"Where's Isa?" he asked, carefully sitting up. Ow. He felt his belly. Good. The wound was closed, though it was lumpy and it stung badly. It would take another curaga for it to completely disappear.

"I managed to get him in the head." Riku held up a hand to silence when Lea opened his mouth. "I checked. He's still breathing. I know you don't want to kill him if we don't have to."

Lea nodded. He wiped his mouth, barely giving the blood there a glance. "We have to get out of here before he wakes up."

Riku arched a brow.

"He's my friend, but Isa's gone to the dark side now," Lea said. He looked away, jaw set hard. "He doesn't give up easily. I don't want to take any chances."

After a moment of studying, Riku nodded. He stood up, that blindfold covering his eyes. Lea rarely noticed it anymore – it'd been a year since he started wearing it again. When he did, though, it made him think of... old times.

_Whatever._ Lea shook his head and lifted a hand. Riku helped him up.

"Alright. Let's go." He summoned his Keyblade and tossed it, watching it transform into his Glider a second before it landed on the ground. Lea climbed on after seeing Riku do the same, finally turning to look at the unconscious Isa.

A relic of old times. That was the thing though; old times were times that didn't exist anymore.

"Sorry, Isa," he muttered. He raised his voice a tad. "Oh, Riku. At least get what I came here for."

Riku paused a moment before shaking his head. "Of course. How did I almost forget?" He skimmed his Glider across the ground, careful not to get too close to Isa, towards a computer monitor. He stopped beside it and scrolled around, clicking for about a minute before getting a disk to slide out of an opening. He took it and slipped it into an envelope he took out his coat pocket, replacing it there.

"Now let's go," Lea said. He absently revved the engine of his Glider, wincing a little at the sudden loud sound. Whoops.

With a sigh, Riku opened a Way with his own Keyblade. The two vanished into it.

**. . .**

"How long until she's ready to leave?"

Two cloaked men stood by a steel cell door.

"You know perfectly well. She's ready once she's given in."

The original speaker turned to gaze at the door. He didn't dare look inside through the grate. It would cause... interference.

_Do you really want to prevent that?_

He shook his head almost imperceptivity. _Traitorous thoughts._

"Right," he eventually replied. "How long until the next session?"

"The Master's said tomorrow."

A sob suddenly came from inside the cell. It was quickly stifled.

The original speaker ignored the emotion that surfaced in response to that noise. _The Master knows what you think. Best not to dwell on it._ "Good. It would be good to finally get her out of that cell." He suddenly felt the need to elaborate further. "More hands to take care of the last two Lights."

"Don't lie to yourself. We all know why you really want her out." The other man backed away and turned to leave. "Just a warning. The Master's aware of your feelings. He thinks it would be wise if you refrained from visiting this cell unless required." He left, walking down the hall.

"Of course." The original speaker forced his eyes away from the door. He was right; staying here was dangerous. She would corrupt his thoughts.

"Please don't leave," a voice whispered hoarsely from the cell.

He froze for a moment before shaking it off. He needed to leave.

"Please."

He hesitated. Maybe... "Why do you want me to stay?" _I was the one who brought you here in the first place._

"... You're my last connection," came the weak answer.

The man made up his mind. He had to leave. Now.

He could hear steps coming towards him. A few seconds later, another partner appeared from the corner. He was slowing down, obviously about to stop. His hood was up, but the original speaker could tell who he was anyway.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

The arriver paused when he heard his voice. "... What makes you think I was headed here?"

Such rebellion. It made him wonder why the Master still tolerated this action. He should've been thrown into a cell like the woman a long time ago. "You slowed. There is no other prisoner in this hall."

The arriver paused again. "Of course. You can always read me. Yes, I came to visit. What about it?"

"You're here?" the woman rasped from the cell.

"Shh," the arriver shot towards her. He looked at the original speaker. "I'm sure you have more important things to be doing, Terra. Why don't you leave? I can watch her, if that's what you're worried about."

He hesitated. "No. I'll stay. The Master is suspicious of you."

"How straight-forward." The arriver stepped past him to stand right in front of the cell door. "Go ahead, you can listen in. We only chat."

The original speaker turned to watch.


End file.
